M191

Fall, 2013

Prof. Bernoff
Prof. Omar

Putnam TNG #8 Linear Algebra & Vector Spaces

These problems will be discussed on Tuesday 11/12/13 at 6PM in Shanahan B450.
The Putnam TNG seminar assumes that you have tried to work the problems in advance of
the seminar and have solved at least one problem that you are willing to present in class.
H1: For which positive integers n is there an n n matrix with integer entries such that every
dot product of a row with itself is even, while every dot product of two different rows is
odd?
(Putnam 2011)
H2: Let dn be the determinant of the n n matrix whose entries, from left to right and then
from top to bottom, are cos 1, cos 2, . . . , cos n2 . (For example,


cos 1 cos 2 cos 3


d3 = cos 4 cos 5 cos 6 .
cos 7 cos 8 cos 9
The argument of cos is always in radians, not degrees.) Evaluate limn dn .
(Putnam 2009)
H3: Alan and Barbara play a game in which they take turns filling entries of an initially
empty 2008 2008 array. Alan plays first. At each turn, a player chooses a real number
and places it in a vacant entry. The game ends when all the entries are filled. Alan wins
if the determinant of the resulting matrix is nonzero; Barbara wins if it is zero. Which
player has a winning strategy?
(Putnam 2008)
H4: Do there exist polynomials a(x), b(x), c(y), d(y) such that
1 + xy + x2 y 2 = a(x)c(y) + b(x)d(y)
holds identically?

(Putnam 2003)

H5: Let n be an even positive integer. Write the numbers 1, 2, . . . , n2 in the squares of an
n n grid so that the k-th row, from left to right, is
(k 1)n + 1, (k 1)n + 2, . . . , (k 1)n + n.
Color the squares of the grid so that half of the squares in each row and in each column
are red and the other half are black (a checkerboard coloring is one possibility). Prove
that for each coloring, the sum of the numbers on the red squares is equal to the sum of
the numbers on the black squares.
(Putnam 2001)
H6: Let A and B be different n n matrices with real entries. If A3 = B3 and A2 B = B2 A,
can A2 + B2 be invertible?
(Putnam 1991)
H7: If A and B are square matrices of the same size such that ABAB = 0, does it follow
that BABA = 0?
(Putnam 1990)
H8: Let A be an n n matrix with entries aij = |i j|. Find its determinant.
(Putnam 1969)